Instruktøren Michael Curtiz har skabt et monumentalt epos baseret på den historiske bestseller af Mika Waltari. Det er den eventyrlige livshistorie om den egyptiske læge Sinuhe, der starter sit liv i fattigdom for til sidst at blive livlæge for selveste faraoen Akhenaton. Det fantastiske soundtrack til denne Oscar-nominerede film er produceret af to af filmmusikkens giganter, Bernard Herrmann og Alfred Newman.

Hard-boiled archeologist Mark Brandon is searching for ancient tombs in Egypt when he is approached by beautiful Ann Mercedes, who convinces him to help her fulfill her deceased father's life's ambition - to provide solid proof of the biblical Joseph's travels in ancient Egypt. As an ex-pupil of Ann's father, Mark accepts and the two embark on a search for the tomb of the Pharoah Ra Hotep, said to have had some connection with Joseph. The trail to the tomb is fraught with intrigue, betrayal, murder, and the possibility that the tomb itself has been emptied of all its artifacts by ancient looters.